The Deadliest Jobs In America

Construction worker

These men take some serious abuse. In 2001, 1,225 people in the industry fell, which is way more than for the previous category. This is not much of a shock when you think about the kind of conditions they have to work in, day in and day out. Your office is in essence a pile of metal, concrete and brick and there are tons of massive tools and equipment around. The margin of error is high and so is the altitude where these men regularly do their work. Is it much of a surprise then that falls account for the majority of deaths in most sectors of the construction industry? If you wear a hardhat, watch your step.

Timber cutter

Anyone who works in the forest, in a mill or with wood is at risk. Why? One word: saws. They are sharp and slice flesh like a knife in hot butter. No surprise then that contact with objects and equipment is the number one culprit in the deaths of people who work in the lumber industry. Duh.

Fisherman

As a weekend pastime, we love to bait a hook and drop it into a stream, river or lake, and sit back with a cold one. Hey, that is as American as apple pie. But for the men and women who fish for commercial purposes, it is a dangerous, dangerous business. The weather conditions can be fierce and there are no shortages of grisly ways one can be mutilated, impaled, dismembered, and killed. Hey, remember the psycho from I Know What You Did Last Summer ? That hook was damn sharp! Don't even get me started on The Perfect Storm . So the next time you chow down on some tuna sashimi, raise a glass of sake in praise of these brave souls.

Truck driver

Keep on truckin'. Easy in theory but you get behind the wheel of a monster on 18 wheels and drive from Pensacola to Tacoma. The mental strain on the men (and women) who drive these massive vehicles is enormous. The transportation industry as a whole is a tough grind, but truckers in particular, more so than pilots, train operators or even the notorious cab drivers, have it bad. They make up well over half of the deaths in the industry from one year to the next. No wonder the job is so lucrative to those who stick it out. My suggestion? Think twice before you apply. A career in the military is less dangerous, even these days.

Anyone in retail

This is not a joke. The category is broad however; so let me break it down for you:

If you work at a convenience store, a gas station, a grocery store, a corner store, a liquor store, a diner, or a bar, run. Run like the wind because you are going to die my friend. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, maybe not ever I admit, but your chances for long life pale in comparison to Jorge the tollbooth operator. If your last name is Kim and you sell wine in Watts, good luck to you.

Anyone in the service sector

Again, the net cast here is wide. You think?

Raise a white flag if you operate the roller coaster at Six Flags and press on the brake if you repair automobiles (115 of your kind lost their lives on the job in 2001). Any repair job has inherent dangers to beware of, as do jobs where you lease heavy equipment and machinery.

All of a sudden, I have never been so happy at my incompetence around tools. Give me a hammer and a nail and observe my blank stare. Who cares? I have a long life ahead of me as a result.